Amalgamator



J. A. MALONE.

AMALGMIATOR.

MPucmnn man M1642. 19u.

1,317,984. rammed oefA 7,1519.

l.. t l J lIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllh 'l lllllllllll"IIIIII1'IIIIIII III 9 .9 FQ f3 1 "nl u H 40 o o 17 o 16 o o 12 :jvwenoz l im? ./MaZone,

- 4 attenua?- of Kentucky., I

UNITED STATES 4,- .MAIf-QNE. I0F GMYSON. KBNTUGIW` AMALGAMATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 001:. 7, H1919.

Appligattgnnled August 22, 19117, Serial No. 187,692.

To @Il wham concern;

1.3JJ Maeva wh L. Jaaa# A Mursia, a citizen of the nited Sjies, residpl at Grayson, ,thecoilgk'ypi Aarten and tate have-inventati A.eaat.1ff1new and useful lmpsereaaeats .111 amalgamare 0f which the following is a speclcafilnien.`

This investianrlates to .amalgama/tors, and one ,of the obiec y. :stof ,pnomde a device of the clessrlebd .,or .of auch. characteristics1 that Ithe precious- `metals may be oliiciently recoyened. frgia ,their ores, either with, or tvithoiliftl subjecting tll4 bres 13.0 an eleetrcl, `tic action.. i

Anot er object of the invention is to, provide means. wheres. Some ef the metals may be recovered anon initial intradiation of the ores into the apparatus, and-thc remainder recovered through the agitation of the crashed Qnesghsands or clays in the presence of a material having an aliinity therefor, zEorexampie, mercury.

Other objects and advantages of the im vention will be referred to hereinafter, it being understood that changes in forni, proporti-on and minor details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional vieW through an amalgamator constructed in accordance with my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a view partly in elevation, and partly in section, the section being taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

For 'the pur ose of illustration, I have shown the ama gamator as consisting of a receptacle 5, having an inlet 6 and an outlet or overflow 7 The top of the receptacle is closed by a cover 8 removably secured to the receptacle b the fastening devices 9. The inlet 6 which is located adJacent to the bottcm of the receptacle 5 communicates with a supply chamber 10 at one end of the receptacle and in which is a rotatable cylinder 11 fixed on a shaft 12 extending through the sides of said chamber 10 and on one end of which is a pulle 13. The cylinde-r 11 is preferab-l formedI of co -per or similar materia] an immediately eneath the same is a scraper 14, whereby any adhering particles on said c linder ma be removed from the surface o the cylin er during its rotation. In the throat 15 of the supply chamber 1,0 is a spring-pressed yielding gate 16, the lower curved edge portion 1,7 of which at least, consists of material adapted to act as a conductor of electricity and said edge portion 8 is in electrical communication with the binding post 18 in the upper Wall of the chamber 10, so that the gate may form onev of the anodes of the amalgamator. The cathode connection is shown at 19. The floor 2l of receptacle 5 has spaced a short distance therefrom, a screen 22 which may be a perforate plate or a screen of some retculated material and between the screen 22 and door 1, I prefer to introduce a suitrable medium 23, for example, mercury havlng an aiiinity for precious metals. The trough 24 inthe floor 21 with its valved outlet 25 constitutes a iflow-of or drain for the z nercury, `and 26 is a liquid drain for the receptacle 5.

Journaled in the vertical bearing 27 on the 7door 21 of the receptacle 5, and in the bearing 28 on the cover 8, is a shaft 29 carrying an agitator consisting of the cross bars 30 and 31 and the vertical bars 32 of which there may be any suitable number. The shaft 29 carries at its upper end a beveled gear 33 meshing with a beveled gear 34 on a driven shaft 35 in the bearings 36 and 37 carried by the cover 8, and on one end of the shaft 35 is a power p-ulley 38, While on the other end is a pulley 39 having a belt connection With a pulley 13 on the shaft 12 of the cylinder 11. The cover 8 carries a binding post 41 connected to a spring contact plate 42, the free end of which bears againstthe insulated contact ring 43 carried by the shaft 29 and leading from the ring 43 are the Wires 44 traversing the vertical bars 32, as best seen in Fig. 1. The bars 32 of the agitator thus constitute another anode of the amalgamator. The two binding posts 18 and 41 being connected to the same side of the exterior circuit.

When the parts are assembled, power may be communicated to the shaft 35 which will, in turn, rotate the shaft 29 to cause movement of the agitator Within the receptacle 5 and through the belt 40 cause the rotation orf the cylinder 11.

As the material is fed through the throat l5, it will come in contact with the anode gafte 16, the tension of which may be regulated and flow over the co per surface of the cylinder 11. The cylin er is caused to revolve in the direction of the flow of pulp.

The lower ortion of the cylinder slightly deprcsses tie mercury or mercurio compound as it rotates. An particles adhering thereto will be scrape off by the scraper 14, which also prevents an excess of pulp and mercury from entering behind the cylinder. The values raked off by the scraper are dro ped into the mercury trough 24.

By t e cathode connection 19 a suitable vol-ta e makes the amalgamated surface of cylinder 11, all the mercury, and the mercury cover 23, including the part of the latter extending under cylinder 11, the cathode pole, so that the current entering the anode gate pole throws Ithe values in the pulp, upon the amalgamated cylinder 11, whence as stated tlty are removed by the scraper and deposi in the mercury. The material then passes through the o ening 6 into the yamalgjunator chamber an is violently agitated y the agitator consisting of the shaft 29 and its bars 30, 31 and anode arms 32, the precious metals being collected by the mercurial bed and the Waste passing out through the over-How 7. When 1t is desired to have access to the interior of the amalgamator for cleaning, or for other purposes, the fastening devices 9 ma be released and the cover may be taken o carrying with it ilopiel of this patent may be obtained for the gearing and the agitator, inasmuch as the agitator shaft 29 fits in step bearing 27.

i l be apparent therefore that the device is simple in operation and easily accessible.

I claim 1. In a device of the class described the combination of a feeding chamber having a cathode comprising a rotating feeding cylinder, an amalgamating chamber, havin a cathode, an anode in the feeding cham er, and a rotating agitator-anode in the amalgamating chamber.

2. In a device such as set lforth in claim 1, the cathode plate extending throughout the bottoms of the feeding and amalgamating chambers.

3. In a device such as set forth in claim 1, the combination of the mercury trou h and the scraper adjacent thereto and to tie Wall of the cylinder.

4. A device such as set forth in claim l, wherein the anode is in the form of a gate arranged in the feed passage adjacent to the cylinder.

The foregoing specification signed at Grayson, Kentucky, this fifth day of February, 1917.

JAMES A; MALONE.

ive cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. U. 

